The shrill cries of women gone wild slice through the summer night as The Bacchae erupts in an exhilarating outdoor staging by the Classical Theatre of Harlem in Marcus Garvey Park.
Faithfully sticking to Euripides’ story and dramatic format, playwright Bryan Doerries sharply updates the 405 BC tragedy’s language and retools its rhythms to bridge the then and now for audiences at the 1,600-seat Richard Rodgers Amphitheater.
Resisting classical cliches, set designers Christopher Swader and Justin Swader install an imposing industrial-type assemblage of split-level metal scaffolding, stairs, platforms, and translucent panels across the amphitheater’s broad stage where the bacchantes—here known as the Baquettes—emerge to writhe in worship of Dionysus, a hedonistic god come down to Earth.
Disguised as a rabble-rousing evangelist, Dionysus seeks vengeance upon a royal family that shuns him, particularly Pentheus, the king. An uptight guy, Pentheus mocks the god, taunts this presumed priest, and disdains the hordes of women driven to orgiastic frenzies.
“This really goes too far, when women think they can beat up men and do whatever they please,” he asserts.
Plying Pentheus with wine, Dionysus smoothly leads the king astray—decked out as a woman, too—towards his doom at the hands of his own mother and her mad comrades. Euripides’ intent to caution people to behave moderately in all things or risk disaster remains clear, even as this latest iteration emphasizes the tale’s feminist angle.
An experienced hand at the classics, Doerries is the artistic director of Theater of War Productions, which applies ancient drama to contemporary issues, such as its Antigone in Ferguson. Doerries’ fresh adaptation of The Bacchae employs rap rhythms and heightened language for the play’s extensive choral sections that contrast against the conversational exchanges between its characters.
One timely bit that causes the audience to hoot appreciatively was Pentheus’ angry avowal to “build a wall and put a quick end to this mess!”
Brightly staged in a brisk 70 minutes by Carl Cofield, the associate artistic director of Classical Theatre of Harlem, this clever production turns out to be more entertaining than enlightening. The tragedy’s tricky conclusion does not resonate as deeply as it might as Dionysus blithely drives away from a desolated kingdom in an illuminated pedicab.
Still, there’s nothing wrong with entertainment spun upon a classical theme, especially when admission is free, and the show appears as classy as this one. Flashy rock and roll lighting, vivid projections, and sexy shredded fashions refresh the old saga with contemporary visuals.
Sporting long dreadlocks and a metal-studded codpiece, Jason C. Brown is a charismatic Dionysus. RJ Foster seethes as Pentheus. Andrew Farella delivers an effective cameo as a boyish guard who urgently describes the king’s offstage demise. Still, what really drives the drama, appropriately enough, is the strong ensemble of women who comprise its title.
Spiked with electric guitar riffs from musician Alicyn Yaffee, an all-female chorus is energetically impelled by Lori Vega’s leadership and especially graced by silky-steely vocals from Gabrielle Djenné. The company’s enthusiastic mass chanting proves the enduring power of ancient Greek theatrics.
Sinuous yet ritualistic choreography by Tiffany Rea-Fisher is rendered with dangerous abandon by members of the Elisa Monte Dance troupe. They sometimes stamp on the metal platforms so boldly as to threaten to bring down the structures surrounding them, which is a perfect metaphor for this story regarding collective feminine power.
